L-Asparaginase: A Promising Enzyme for Treatment of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukiemia

Asparaginases are known to be the cornerstone for treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and are used for treatment in all pediatric regimens as well as in the majority of adult treatment protocols. Clinical hypersensitivity reactions against commercially available asparaginase have resulted in failure of asparaginase in treatment of ALL in more than 60% of cases. Thus, it is required to search for serologically different asparaginase from new organisms for the patients exhibiting sensitivity to one formulation of asparaginase, so that they can be switched to another to ensure that they receive the most efficacious treatment regimen possible. The present study report E. coli VRY-15, E. coli VRY-8 and E. coli VRY-14 as potent producer of L-asparaginase. The L-asparaginase obtained from E. coli VRY-15 showed highest specific activity i.e., 19.56 μmol/mg. Attempt was made to purify the enzyme. Molecular weight of purified L-asparaginase obtained from E. coli VRY-15 was found to be 56 K Da as determined using Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS- PAGE).